I zero in on the puck. Alaska is fighting hard for control, but West and the others are fighting even harder to keep it. I don’t dare look up at the clock or take my eye off the puck, but I’m counting in my head.
One thousand five.
One thousand four.
One thousand three.
One thousand two.
Oh, my fucking God.
The buzzer sounds, the team is off the bench and over the boards, and then the whole lot of them have landed in a pile—with me at the bottom.
“We fucking did it!” West’s voice is rough, emotional.
“Fuuuck!” Somewhere in the pile I hear Bodi. Ashton. Felix. Cash.
My friends.
My hockey family.
We did it.
I want to celebrate but I can’t.
There’s something that’s more important.
The guys are getting up now, the ice is filled with players and support staff, but first we have to get through the handshake line.
This will be tough because this is my old team. I’m friends with almost every guy on the team. And they all have congratulations, words of support, a couple of guys even congratulate me on my marriage.
My marriage.
The thing that’s most important to me right now.
I know I have to get through some of the celebrations, interviews, everything else that goes with the win. But I need to find Holly.
I spoke to my father before the game and he told me he saw her at the sanctuary. That she was in rough shape. That she cried. And most of all—that she needs me. He also told me I was a dumbass, which confused me because I didn’t know what he was talking about.
Then he told me about a conversation he had with Holly.
Where she told him she loved me but that I don’t love her back. And that I had said as much. I had to wrack my brain to figure out what she was talking about, and I’m still not sure. Obviously, my struggle with English is catching up to me and I’m frustrated that I said something that made Holly think I don’t love her.
We’ve been stubborn and stupid, and that stops now.
So, even though I say and do all the right things, my eye is on the tunnel, where our families will be joining us on the ice any minute now. I left strict instructions with my parents to make sure Holly comes down, win or lose. If we lost, we would be meeting in the family lounge, but for a win this big, everyone will join us on the ice.
And finally, I see her.
I move in that direction without hesitation, anxious to get to her, clear the air. Winning a championship is incredible—but nothing means more than my wife. I think I fell a little in love with her that first day when I heard her on the phone. Trying so hard to be brave.
Right then, some deep-seated instinct to protect her kicked in.
So, I offered her money and married her.
Thinking back, it’s almost like it was an excuse. I’m strong enough to put my mother in her place, even if I have to do it gently. Diplomatically. I certainly didn’t have to marry a woman just because she said so.
The beautiful, scared, tortured soul standing there on the phone captivated me immediately.
